


Video Tape

by amylix



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 18:34:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18834364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amylix/pseuds/amylix
Summary: Hyunjin was Jisung's whole life, but apparently Jisung's life was too short.





	Video Tape

**Author's Note:**

> this au contains topics that can be triggering and uncomfortable for some readers. if youre easily triggered, please do not read.

The school halls were quiet. Too quiet. Even though it was buzzing with students, nobody dared to say a word and only the squeaking of their footsteps and the sounds of lockers opening and closing. Students were in a daze, gazing at each other as if they were dead inside due to the effect of the surprise and the recent news that were delivered to the students everywhere. Pictures were all over the walls of the school, the school’s website was flooded, texts were sent to each student in the school of the incident. It was quite the shock to each student. Nobody imagined that they would ever wake up to that kind of news. Some were crying, some were trying to hold back, some were sad but mostly shocked it even happened. The bell rang and the students quietly made their way to class. Jisung walked dazely, as if he was in another world. He was a mix of emotions. He was broken, shocked, scared, betrayed, and even though he felt all of that he felt empty as if something was missing. He wasn’t ready to go to class at all, he just wanted to run away and scream. He knew the topic will be brought up in class, but he was not ready, he didn’t want the reality to sink in. He entered the classroom, sitting at the very back -which was very not jisung as he always sat in the middle because he disliked sitting alone in the back- and stared off into space. The classroom mimicked the halls and nobody dared to utter anything. Even the teacher that entered the room didn’t know where to start. 

“As you all have heard these past 24 hours, we have lost a dear student that used to sit with us in this very class-” Jisung toned out the teacher as he stared at the empty Hyunjin used to sit in. He used to sit in the chair right next to his as they would joke and laugh in their breaks between periods. He still remembers Hyunjin’s cute laugh as his nose scrunched up and his eyes closed completely. He still remembers his touch, their moments together, the way they stared in each other’s eyes. They were just together less than 24 hours ago, he looked perfectly fine, he was smiling and laughing and making jokes, he even made plans with Jisung to hang out later in the weekend. He felt guilty he didn’t notice Hyunjin struggling with his life. His eyes were burning from all the crying he cried last night that he just couldn't cry anymore. The tears never came. He never got to say goodbye, he never even got to say his feelings and confess how much he has like Hyunjin these past years. Jisung lost a lover and a best friend; he was just miserable. His funeral would be held later in the evening and he didn’t even know if he could go. He wasn’t ready to just accept that he is not here anymore.

School went by as slow as a snail, each teacher that entered the classroom had to bring up Hyunjin’s death and it was menacing. He had to go through each time they talked about him and endure the pain he felt inside each time and it was the worst thing he has ever gone through in his life. He just wanted to scream at each one of them to stop talking about it, he just wanted to crawl into a corner and cry out all his emotions until he dies. He felt as if everything was over. He didn’t have a best friend anymore, he lost him. He actually did. The thought kept running through his mind as he as he struggled to believe the thought. He walked dazely back home, his mind faded as if he was just a soulless body walking on earth. He didn’t feel anything anymore, he was empty. He was trapped in his little flying away mind and he couldn’t do anything about it. 

As he was walking back home he spotted Hyunjin’s home as his mind played a scene of Hyunjin calling for Jisung from the window to come hang out with him in his room as he was bored and finished all of his homework like the ace he is. He slightly smiled at the cute memory as his eyes sprung with tears one more time. He lost count of how many times he has cried now. Everything reminded him or Hyunjin, he even felt his presence in his heart. He knew that Hyunjin will forever remain in his heart and that he will never forget him, but he was not ready to accept the fact that he won’t be here physically anymore. He couldn’t just imagine calling him on the phone and hearing the beep of the phone, signalling that there has been no answer to his call. Hyunjin was no other than a memory to Jisung now. It broke everything in Jisung and sucked the life out of him. He felt suffocated as he collapsed in front of his front stairs. He can hear his mother’s loud cries from inside and that destroyed him even more. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe anymore and everything became blurry to him and his breath came out in heavy pants. He closed his eyes and tried to steady breathing as he felt like he was going to faint. He clenched his fists as they scratched against the sidewalk and got a little warmer due to the little friction that occured.

He slowly and shakily got up to his feet again and took slow and hesitant steps towards Hyunjin’s front door. He knocked quietly twice and waited for one of his parents to open the door. His father slowly opened the door and came face to face to a very broken, red-eyed, and pale Jisung, his dark circles more visible due to lack of sleep last night. Hyunjin’s father stepped aside to let him enter silently, not daring to say anything and not even having the energy to do such action. Hyunjin’s mother looked at Jisung with tear-filled eyes and hugged him tightly, sobbing in his neck. “I’m so sorry Jisung.” She quietly whispered into his neck between hiccups. Jisung just hugged her back emotionlessly, staring into space.”I’ll go to his room.” Jisung said after a few minutes of silence and broke the hug. He slowly made his way up the stairs, holding onto the railings, afraid of his legs giving up and falling down. He turned the cold doorknob as it felt like daggers up his palm, and entered the dark, quiet room. It was so cold he felt like he couldn’t breathe, but it still smelled the same as him. 

He turned on the light and everything looked the same as how Hyunjin organized it. His bed sheets were still not made and they are still the same grey and white color. Jisung felt his whole body lose its balance and kneeled against the wall, as he looked all around the room, memories of him and Hyunjin rushing through his head like a train. Pictures of them both lined the shelves in the room and Jisung felt the same burning that he’s been feeling in his eyes in the past 24 hours. He wanted so bad to cry, to scream, to unleash all the feelings that were buried inside of him, but he just couldn’t, and it frustrated him so much. He envied all the kids that are crying, at least they can let out their feelings, but he just felt like he is going mad, his whole mind a mixture of a million different feelings, and his whole body numb.

He dragged his feet across the soft carpet, digging them into it as if his legs were chained. He saw Hyunjin’s laptop on his desk, still opened from yesterday or so. He slowly made his way to the desk and sat on it, and typed in the password to Hyunjin’s laptop. Jisung was the only one who knew the password to his laptop, he was the only one allowed to use it besides Hyunjin because Hyunjin trusted him with everything, even his own life. Yet Jisung felt as if he broke that trust when he wasn’t there to save him last minute. He started looking through the folder labeled “Jisung” and saw all of the photos of them together. The aesthetic ones, the weird and ugly ones, the cute ones, all types of pictures. His eyes started stinging again, but only this time, the tears finally came. His tears fell and no matter how much he wiped them away, they still came flooding down his face. He sobbed silently, not wanting Hyunjin’s parents to hear his suffering and misery. His hand squeezed into fists so hard that they became white. “Why would you do this to me, you’re so selfish. I hate you.” Jisung said with a broken voice while looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t hate you, I’m sorry.” he muttered quietly. He always cared for Hyunjin’s feelings more than anything in the world. He didn’t want to hurt him. He knew Hyunjin could hear him, and he will never want to break his Hyunjin’s little heart. 

He wiped his tears and started looking through the rest of the images, smiling at the memories they brought. His heart was warm, despite the immense pain it radiated. When he was finished with all the pictures, he exited the folder and started going through the rest of the folders, looking for the rest of the memories of them together. Jisung’s hand froze as he saw the folder labelled as “help”. It was never there the last time he looked. His heart felt as if it was being squeezed by a million hands. He knew that this folder would break him apart. He was terrified, immensely terrified to click on it. His whole body was shaking and he felt very cold, his breathing became so shaky and he felt suffocated. He stood away from the desk but quickly sat down, feeling like his legs were going to give up on him. He started collecting his breathe slowly, and closed his eyes.

He felt so awful. He felt like a huge piece of shit that he didn’t know what Hyunjin was going through. He needed help. He needed fucking help. He tugged harshly on his hair, wanting to break something. He stared at the laptop screen with tears filling his eyes again, not knowing if he should open it or just delete it. His mind was truly clouded but he just found himself clicking on the folder and seeing what was inside of it. He found a video with a black thumbnail. His finger slowly and shakily went to play it. He played it and it was black for a few seconds then he heard a faint panting and the view appeared to be moving as some light started coming into view. The person recording was running in yard or forest of some sort. Suddenly, Hyunjin’s face came into view on the screen and Jisung’s heart raced. Hyunjin’s head was bleeding and he was really pale and sweaty, and the light from the street lamp didn’t help his look at all.

“Please, whoever finds this video, someone was killed and the murderer is following me. If I die, please show this video to the authorities so that they can get the murderer somehow.” The recording then stopped and the play button showed up again on the screen. Jisung hand was on his mouth as he felt the need to throw up. He couldn’t believe what he just saw. Hyunjin just couldn’t have been killed. The police reported that he committed suicide, even his parents said the same thing. He was found hung from his bathroom ceiling. Everything just became so messy for him and his mind spinned. He backed away from the screen but his legs gave up under him and he fell to the floor in disbelief. Jisung was panting so hard, he had the strong feeling of nausea and started coughing violently. He shakily tried to stand up again to check the date of the video.

 

2 days ago. Jisung just couldn’t take it anymore. He shook his head, not believing it. How can something so vile happen to sweet, pure, and kind Hyunjin. His Hyunjin. His love, his best friend. His everything. But how could the murderer enter Hyunjin’s house? How could he do this without Hyunjin’s parents even noticing? Jisung quickly took the laptop and put it in his backpack. He ran down the stairs to look for Hyunjin’s parents and try to find out anything from them, maybe they noticed something strange yesterday. He quickly found them in the kitchen discussing something quietly. They stopped as soon as they saw him and Jisung didn’t waste any time to ask his questions.

“Do you guys have any CCTV cameras around the house?” “We do have, yeah. They are around the house. Why are you asking?” Hyunjin’s father answered, looking quite confused about the question. “Can I check the footage from yesterday?” Jisung asked, looking straight into the guy’s eyes, pleading him with his gaze. Hyunjin’s father nodded. He quickly logged onto his laptop and checked for the footage. Hyunjin’s father trusted Jisung completely, but he was rather confused with the request. “Here’s the footage. Do you want us to leave the room?” “ That would be better, yes.” Jisung nodded and then bowed to them as they left the room. Jisung took a deep breath and clicked play, and he was greeted by the screen split into four squares, each square contains a corner of the outside of Hyunjin’s house. Jisung stared at the multiple screens, looking for anything strange or abnormal. As soon as it hit 2:14 AM, he saw a black body that strongly resembled a male appear in the backyard, right underneath Hyunjin’s room. He started climbing the tree until he reached the height of Hyunjin’s window and then jumped on the window of Hyunjin’s room and got in. Jisung figured out that the window was unlocked and that how the guy got in. When the clock hit 3:04 AM, the killer got out of the window and climbed down the tree and then disappeared.

Jisung felt furious. He wanted to kill someone. He was ready to kill someone. He never thought that he would ever think of something so evil, but the fact that his Hyunjin was coldly murdered in his own bedroom in the middle of the night with no help made him so mad. He was going to find out who did it, even if it meant meeting the same fate as Hyunjin. He stood up after copying the footage on Hyunjin’s laptop and quickly left the house, muttering a quick ‘thank you’ to Hyunjin’s parents as respect and ran back to his home. He left Hyunjin’s parents a small letter saying he was going to use Hyunjin’s laptop for a few days and then return it later so that they won’t think he stole it. He quickly entered his house and ran to his bedroom then locked his bedroom door, got the laptop out from his backpack and started rewatching the video multiple times to find any traces of the killer. The only thing he could catch was a silver watch and a knife, everything else was dark because he was in the forest at night. Hyunjin’s habit was to always walk in the forest at night to clear his head, even though it was dangerous as hell and Jisung warned him about it over a million times. He didn’t find anything that could help him find the killer and even the CCTV footage didn’t show anything because it was dark. Jisung hated the dark.

Jisung knew he had to go to that forest and check in it for anything. It was like finding a pin in a pile of ash, but he didn’t care, he was ready to do anything for Hyunjin. He packed everything in his bag, he got his camera, phone, power bank, flashlight with spare batteries, and a knife. He was going to that forest tonight, and even though it was a death wish, he didn’t care and was ready for it. It was still the middle of the day so Jisung went to bed to get as much energy as he could for the long search tonight. Even though he ended up sleeping about 2 hours only and the rest were overthinking and trying to sleep, he was still full of energy and was ready to go out. It was around 9:17 PM that he got out of his house and started his walk to the forest. As he stood right in front of it, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a minute, before moving his feet and walking in the forest. He was scared shitless. Everything around him was very dark and he felt as if he was watched from each available angle. His mind was screaming for him to go back, but he never listened. He only went forward. He tried as much as he can to memorize the steps he took so that he wouldn’t get lost and kept count in his head. He also recorded everything that was happening as well so that he can catch anything. After about half an hour of a walk into the forest, his flashlight reflected on something shiny on the floor, and as soon as he got closer, he recognized it as Hyunjin’s cross necklace that he always wore, with an ‘H’ engraved on the back of it. His mom got it for him on his 7th birthday, and he has been wearing it ever since.

“It must have fell when Hyunjin fell down in the beginning of the recording.” Jisung concluded out loud. He put the necklace in his pocket and kept walking forward, further into the forest. Suddenly, Jisung heard rustling behind him while tying his shoelaces and he froze on the spot. He heard the same rustling again and readied his camera for any encounter and held the knife in his hand, with his flashlight hung in his belt strap. He started sweating in fear and his eyes went in every direction as he slowly started backing away in the direction he came from. Suddenly he was held from the back of his neck as someone kicked him on the knee. He fell on his knees and was held down from his neck but he whipped around with his knife and stabbed the person in the knees and he fell down as he let out a groan of pain. Jisung pulled the knife and pushed the guy forcefully on his back and started punching him aggressively everywhere, but the gus was bigger and stronger than Jisung so he quickly pushed him off and that’s when Jisung remembered the camera in his hand and took note of everything the guy wore and his features and recorded it as fast as he could then he threw a brick at the guy’s head and he fell unconscious. Jisung ran away as fast as he can, the adrenaline pumping in his veins, making him run faster than ever. 

Jisung went in his house and locked every door or window that could be locked, he locked anything that could be possibly locked. He ran to his room and locked the door and turned off the lights. He sat there, his breathing uneven and his heart beating as if he ran a mile. He was so scared and every inch of his body was shaking. He sat on his bed and pulled his knees to his chest and rocked himself back and forth, trying to calm himself and his breathing. He was almost killed in that forest. He was going to die. Jisung’s nerves were on edge, every little sound made was so evident to his ears, as if everything was magnified 10x, and he became more aware of his surroundings, he could even hear his own pulse pumping through his entire body. He slowly and shakily went to the window of his room, pulling his own hood over his head in an attempt of covering his face so nobody could see him or recognize his face. He peeked slowly from his window when he saw a silhouette staring back at him with vibrant eyes that could not have been human. They were so yellow, looking as if they were lasers. Jisung prepared his baseball bat in his hand as he knew that that thing was going to try to attack him. Surprisingly though, the figure turned away and left the area and went back to the woods.

Jisung lowered his bat as his whole body shook violently and his knees gave up. He fell to the floor with a loud thud and pulled his knees against his chest, rocking himself back and forth. Jisung has never felt more scared in his life. He was quite scared easily and he knew it, but never like that. Jisung knew that what he had done was the stupidest thing in the world and that he might even be dead by tomorrow but he wasn’t sure he cared anymore. Hyunjin was gone, possibly the only one he lived for. What was the use of him living anyway? He felt the familiar sting in his eyes again as they teared up because of so many different emotions. Fear, pain, sadness, misery, possible every bad feeling in the world. He lost the most important person in his life more than 24 hours ago and now he could die any moment. Jisung almost feels as if he is in an awful nightmare and he could have never wished more for a feeling to be true. He was supposed to be sleeping right now, as Hyunjin would pass by his house in the morning so that they can walk to school together. Even though Hyunjin’s house was in the way of school, he still was the one who went to Jisung in the morning as he liked the morning walks. He would always tell Jisung he loved walking in the sun in the morning because it reminded him of Jisung. The sun was shiny and beautiful like Jisung. It was always evident that Hyunjin was practically in love with Jisung, yet Jisung was always too scared and shy to tell him that he loved him too.

Jisung has never regretted something more in his life. He didn’t even regret going to that forest, as long as it was for Hyunjin’s sake. Yet he regretted not telling Hyunjin how he felt all that time. He regretted not kissing him goodbye. He wanted to punch himself in the face for wasting all the chances that he had before it became too late, before he was gone. He has never hated himself more than now. He stared blankly at the floor as he stretched his legs across the ground, his breathing returning to normal. He sat there for hours, overthinking everything yet feeling as if his mind was blank. He didn’t even know how long he sat there until his mother entered his room to wake him up for school yet finding him sprawled across the floor, staring darkly at the space in front of him. His mother stared at him, feeling broken for her son who was going through the hardest moments of his life. She felt so sad and worried for him, but she kept it in her as to not trigger any feelings in him. He looked at her for a long minute before standing up, not bothering to change or shower or do anything besides grabbing his phone and backpack and going to school. He put his earbuds in, shutting himself out from all his surroundings. He stared at Hyunjin’s house for a few minutes, looking at the windows of his room. Usually in the weekends when he visited Hyunjin, he would be looking at him through these windows, as he waved at him before letting him in. Jisung eyes moved from the windows as he prepared to continue his walk to the school, when he saw them.

He saw the yellow eyes staring right back at him from behind Hyunjin’s house and he felt the shivers travel down his body again, and he immediately started video recording him on his phone, when suddenly someone clasped their hand on Jisung’s shoulder. Jisung jumped away from the hand as his heart raced inside his chest and his head whipped back to see the familiar innocent eyes of Jeongin, his neighbour as they were wide in concern and he apologized quickly for startling him. “I’m so sorry, Jisung! You just looked so scared a moment ago and I wanted to check up on you. How are you holding up?” Jeongin looked him in the eyes, trying to choose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted was to trigger Jisung. Jisung just sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m.. trying.” Jisung said slowly, as if he has just forgotten how to talk to humans. Jeongin nodded as he put a comforting hand of Jisung’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Would you mind if I joined you in the walk to school?” Jeongin asked, kicking peebles with his feet as he looked at Jisung, hoping that he agrees. Jisung shrugged and muttered a small, quiet ‘I don’t mind’. Jeongin smiled as his eyes shined, matching the sun. Jisung felt himself involuntarily smile back at the younger boy. It was hard not to smile back at Jeongin, he always radiated such a happy and innocent vibe that would calm anyone’s mood. Jisung looked ahead as he started towards school again. He walked silently and slowly for a few minutes, kicking the little stones on the ground on his way, looking as lifeless as ever. Jeongin looked at him sadly, feeling bad for him. Hyunjin was his friends as well, but he was never close to him as he was with Jisung, and Jeongin understood the immense pain inside of him, but he still couldn’t shake off the worry he had for him.

“So, are you planning to do anything today?” Jeongin asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the silent boy. Jisung quietly shook his head, looking at the ground and avoiding Jeongin’s eyes. He was definitely doing something tonight, but he couldn’t just tell Jeongin that he was searching for a possible murderer that could have killed Hyunjin. Even that sounded ridiculous to him. “Well, how about we hang out then? I’m free all day.” Jeonging said, smiling at the slightly shorter male. “Sorry, Jeongin. I don’t really think I am able to hang out with you. I’m not in the best mood as you can see.” Jisung said, his tone getting blank by the end of his sentence. Jeongin slowly nodded, understanding the boy’s feelings. “Yeah, I totally get it, but hey, it was worth the try.” Jeongin said, smiling. Jisung smiled back a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But you do know that if you want to talk about anything, I’m here to listen, right?” Jeongin looked a Jisung, hooking his pinkie with Jisung’s shorter one, slowing him down a little. Jisung hesitated for a moment. He was never the one to keep something he was doing a secret from his friends, and it was fairly hard as he was not used to it. He bit his lip, looking in Jeongin’s eyes. “Meet me in the library after school, I’ll explain everything.” Jisung sighed, as he continued his walk to school faster and alone this time. Jeongin stared at his back as he walked, wondering what could he explain.

 

Jisung sat in all his classes zoned out, he didn’t even catch a word that a teacher said. His mind was racing with so many other things. What could it have been that tried to kill him? It surely wasn’t human. Those eyes could not belong to a human, and surely humans don’t disappear in seconds. Jisung felt as if he was going crazy with each minute passing. Are monsters real now? They’re not the work of our imaginations or books and movies? Or was he just hallucinating that figure? But could he even hallucinate the same thing twice? Then he remembered that he recorded it this morning and his heart started racing. That recording could show whether he was crazy or not. He started biting the inside of his lips anxiously, while his legs moved up and down quickly and his hands started to sweat. Jisung didn’t know if he wanted that thing to be real or not. He certainly wanted to catch Hyunjin’s killer, but if it was some kind of monster then what could a skinny, lonely high schooler do to it? And he wasn’t the bravest as well, Hyunjin was always the one protecting him from everything. He was the one that hugged him tightly whenever he was scared of a spider or a cockroach while giggling and calling him cute. Jisung had the ghost of a smile on his face as he remembered those sweet memories and set his mind on finding out what happened to Hyunjin. Hyunjin was never scared and was always there when Jisung was terrified of anything and hugged all his fears away, it was time he did the same. He needed to be there for Hyunjin. He needed to get revenge. Hyunjin never killed himself, Hyunjin was killed. He was murdered and he had no help. 

As soon as classes finished, he took out his phone and looked through his gallery. He found the recording and with a shaky finger pressed the play button. The recording started and his eyes widened as he saw the same figure staring back at him with those yellow eyes, and Jisung felt his stomach sink and he immediately clasped a hand over his mouth. His lungs seemed as if they couldn’t take oxygen anymore and he started coughing violently as he started to choke on air. He quickly left the classroom and ran to the bathroom. He threw up in the sink even though he hadn’t eaten anything since morning. His body vibrated and shook as he cried his heart out, letting all the bottled feelings he had outside. He almost screamed as he sobbed, wiping at his eyes yet the tears kept coming. The fact that now he knows that his best friends was actually murdered tortured him. He didn’t save him. He failed him. But he was sure that whatever that thing is, it was going to pay. He quickly wiped his eyes as his heart filled with darkness and venom spread through his veins. He was never more angry than that moment. 

He quickly exited the bathroom, heading to the library to meet Jeongin. As the halls buzzed with leaving students, chatting happily. It angered Jisung even more that they seemed to forget about Hyunjin almost immediately. How could they chat so happily after what happened? How could they get over it so fast? It has been only a day. Jisung was the only one truly hurting. He was the only one torn so deeply, those are just fakes. They never cared and never will. Jisung was never the one to think that way, he was always the happy and bubbly kid, but now it seems that happy boy disappeared, and it angered him even more. Hyunjin would not like it if he changed. He will always be the happy boy that Hyunjin loves so much and called ‘sun’. He will not disappoint Hyunjin in him. He quickly entered the library, searching for Jeongin as his eyes flickered from right to left. He quickly found him sitting down with Felix on one of the tables. Jisung mentally cringed when he realized that Jeongin obviously brought him along as they were close friends. He didn’t want to get more people in trouble, especially not Felix, the boy was a ball of sunshine and love, he didn’t want to ruin that.

“Hey Jeongin, hey Felix..” Jisung said, staring at Felix. Felix smiled at him, showing his pearly white teeth. “Hey Jisung, how are you today?” Felix asked, looking at him sympathetically. Jisung faked a smile as he shrugged. “I’m still alive.” Felix grabbed Jisung’s hand, squeezing it lightly to comfort him. “So, what did you want to talk about?” Jeongin asked, his eyes filled with curiosity. Jisung took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “Okay, this might seem extremely crazy but please hear me out ‘till the end.” Jisung said carefully. Jeongin and Felix perked up and started listening carefully. “Hyunjin didn’t commit suicide.. He was killed.” Jisung finally said it out loud and the boy’s eyes widened in shock and gasped. “How did you know?” Felix asked quickly, his voice shaking. “I found a video on his laptop saying that he witnessed a murder and that the murderer was following him, and that was a day before his death. I went to the woods where he witnessed a murder and was almost killed myself. And this morning I saw the creepy figure that tried to kill me yesterday.” Jisung explained and showed the recording on his phone and he could see the faces of his friends paling by each second. “Jisung, this is dangerous, you shouldn’t go back home it knows where you live and is tracking you!” Jeongin says, his voice raising a little in worry. Jisung sighed and shrugged. “Well, where should I go? I have nowhere to go besides home.” Felix glanced at Jeongin, his eyes filled with fear and confusion. “You could go back home with me?” Felix suggested, looking at Jisung, trying to help. Jisung quickly and frantically shook his head. “I already put you in enough danger by telling you what I saw. You can’t tell anyone about it and you definitely won’t help me. You ‘will’ stay out of this.” Jisung said, emphasizing on the word ‘will’ as he warned the 2 boys. 

They quietly nodded as Jisung stood up and started searching through the books about anything in the woods, any lead that could help him. They stood up and started helping him as well in the search, making it a bit easier for him. “At least let us help you in the library search, it won’t hurt anybody.” Jeongin said, smiling at him. Jisung nodded slowly and sighed, continuing his browsing through the books. He didn’t really know how long he spent in the library but two hours were the least to put it. Jisung ran his hands through his hair, pulling on it in frustration and sighed in exasperation. He kept searching for anything that would lead him to what’s been following him or at least what happened to Hyunjin but he couldn’t find anything. He was slowly losing his, he didn’t even know if what happened to him was real, what if it’s all just hallucinations made up by his mind due to the trauma of losing Hyunjin? What is going on with him? But even if they were hallucinations, Hyunjin’s video is still there in his laptop, he couldn’t make that up. 

Nothing made sense to the kid, he felt like he was trapped in a maze of his own mind. He gently bumped his head against the table, losing his hope and mind every single second passing, until Felix sat abruptly bumping into the table and startling Jisung, making him clutch his chest in surprise and fear. Felix laughed at his scared expression, putting a ghost of a smile on Jisung’s lips. Felix slammed a book on the table, flipping the pages until they landed on a specific page filled with notes everywhere. Jisung could recognize this handwriting from a mile away. Hyunjin’s. “I found these notes while searching. I figured i should take a look in the history of murder in this city and I saw Hyunjin’s name on the notes and immediately brought them to you. Take a look.” Felix said. Jisung grabbed the book and started reading the headline. “Mysterious murder cases that are unsolved until this day.” They were all close in date and were near the forest. But why would Hyunjin even be interested in this topic, he hated even killing a bug. “All witnessed would say they saw specific yellow eyes in the murderer, and the next day they would be dead. The whole city has been searched, including the forest but nothing has been found.”

Jisung slumped back into his chair, losing even more hope. If the police couldn’t even find anything, how would a young kid like him find anything? Felix stared at him sympathetically, knowing how much stress poor Jisung is going through. Jeongin returned, shoulders slumped and expression lined with disappointment. “I couldn’t find anything. Sorry Jisung.” “It’s fine, we already found something.” Felix said, smiling at Jeongin. Jisung then stood up, leaving them and heading back home, skipping through the halls quickly and toning everybody out. He walked through the city streets quietly and slowly, staring at every flower on his way home. They all reminded him of Hyunjin, he was as delicate and soft as a flower. He had the sweetest giggle and smile, he had the kindest heart and soul. He was such a blessing in Jisung’s life. He was the light of his day. He was the reason he even wanted to live, and now he has nothing to live for. But he knows he can’t die yet, he has to avenge Hyunjin and live his life for him. If he died, Hyunjin would be disappointed and sad, and Hyunjin needs to be happy all the time. Jisung could still remember his cute little pout when Jisung said something Hyunjin didn’t like. Jisung’s heart would skip a beat whenever he knew that Hyunjin worried about him. 

Jisung’s smile sprung up to his face as memories of them together resurfaced in his head. His eyes filled with tears but he never let them out. Hyunjin didn’t like it when Jisung cried, and he knows he can’t make him sad. Jisung reached his house and entered, going straight to his room. He immediately started searching for that little teddy bear that Hyunjin bought him for his birthday. It still smelled like him, so sweet.Jisung hugged the bear and fell on his bed, as he inhaled all of Hyunjin’s scent, filling up his nostrils, heart and soul. Jisung felt at ease finally, like he could actually be fine. He felt Hyunjin near him, he knew he was there with his heart, he knew he was near. Because Hyunjin never left him alone, and he promised he wouldn’t, no matter what happened. Even death can’t keep them apart, their souls were connected and they would always find each other no matter what. Jisung closed his eyes, letting his body relax and fall into a deep nap, preparing for the night ahead. He knew that he had to go there again to know what the hell is going on. 

His alarm jerked him awake from his sleep, startling him slightly. Jisung groggily turned off him alarm and rubbed his eyes awake, stretching and cracking a bunch of bones to relieve the sore parts of his body from the bad sleeping position. He sat at the edge of his bed for a few minutes, staring blankly into space. This might be his last night for all he knew, or he could return back alive which was highly unlikely. He wasn’t scared of dying, he was scared of dying and not avenging Hyunjin. He stood up and grabbed his things, putting them into his bag, readying himself for what he was going to face in a short while. He took a long breath, releasing it a moment later and left his house, heading to the forest again. His steps were slow and careful, as he looked everywhere around him, preparing for any surprise attack. Jisung cursed as he dropped to the floor harshly, tripping over a rock. He didn’t have time to get up for a body that quickly pounced on him, wearing yellow sunglasses and the rest of their face except their mouth covered with a black cloth.

The body started choking Jisung, squeezing the life out of him with force that could almost break his neck. Jisung started thrashing around, his hands and nails digging into the dirt and soil around him, and grabbed a chunk, shoving it into the body’s mouth, causing them to choke on it. They released Jisung and he immediately while taking his breath, pounced on the body and started hitting him with a rock multiple times on the head, until the body stopped moving underneath him. He panted as the adrenaline still pumped through his body. He quickly grabbed his camera and phone, and slowly approached the still body and crouched near them. He slowly and shakily reached towards the man’s face to remove the cloth. Jisung gasped and tears immediately were flowing out of his eyes as he recognized the face of the man underneath the cloth. The man’s eyes shot open and hpounced on Jisung again, holding him at a very strong chokehold, as Jisung’s nails dug into the man’s hands, trying to free himself. It didn’t take long before Jisung dropped still and stopped moving, his eyes staring into space with no emotion, void of life. The man slowly stood up as he stared at the boy blankly, then left him to decay by himself.

Jisung jerked awake, panting and sweating in his bed, his whole body sticky and shaking with fear, his nerves unsettled. It was morning outside and his alarm clock read 7 AM. He took a quick look at his room to see nothing has changed, everything was at it’s place before Hyunjin died. He was wearing the clothes he woke up with when Hyunjin died. He quickly opened his laptop to see all of Hyunjin’s files in their place, nothing moved or changed. He checked his drawers and the teddy bear was there, just like how it was before he removed it. Everything was the same and felt way more real. He was dreaming all of that. A knock was heard on the door and his mom entered his room, crying and wearing all black. “I’m so sorry baby, but Hyunjin died last night. I don’t know what to say to you, but i’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t believe an angel like him would commit suicide, it’s horrible.” She said, sobbing and wiping her tears. Jisung’s knees gave up and he fell to floor, the action all too familiar. No, he wasn’t dreaming anymore.


End file.
